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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23726857">Let Me Show You Something</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/cabin12kiddos/pseuds/cabin12kiddos'>cabin12kiddos</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Percy Jackson and the Olympians &amp; Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Hurt/Comfort</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:07:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,811</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23726857</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/cabin12kiddos/pseuds/cabin12kiddos</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>There's one thing that always distracts Annabeth from the nightmares. Maybe tonight, she'll share it with Percy.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>57</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Let Me Show You Something</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Annabeth had been trying to fall asleep for hours, but it just wasn’t happening. Every time she closed her eyes, the visions creeped back into her mind, slowly poisoning her dreams, turning them to nightmares. She saw her friends dying.</p><p>She saw Clarisse, impaled by her beloved “maimer”, her intense gaze softening as the life drained from her eyes. </p><p>She saw Frank with a collar around his neck, unable to shift back into his humanoid form.</p><p>She saw Grover, peace settling over his furry face as he let out a final panic. </p><p>She saw Hazel buried under a mountain of dirt and earth, struggling to breathe. </p><p>She saw Jason in his last moments, facing off Calligula, sacrificing himself only if his friends lived to fight another day.</p><p>She saw Leo, his pupils narrowing as the flaming onager hurtled toward him, his death certain.</p><p>She saw Luke, the golden ichor draining from his eyes, revealing the familiar blue as he choked on his own mortal blood in the Olympian throne room.  </p><p>She saw Malcolm, her dear little brother, panicking as the camp was overrun with monsters, struggling to draw his weapon before he was stabbed. </p><p>She saw Piper, her throat slit by her own knife, watching herself bleed out in Katroptis’s reflection.</p><p>She saw Silena, her beautiful face scorched by the drakon’s breath, mouthing the name “Charlie” as she passed. </p><p>She saw Thalia betraying a shocked expression as she looked down at her midriff, an arrow piercing it, soaking her beloved leather jacket in blood. </p><p>But none were as bad as Percy. He was there, the center of the battle, as he almost always was, fighting until the end. He was stubborn like that. The images of his dead friends only seemed to motivate him to fight harder, to not not give up until every last monster on that field felt the same pain he felt.</p><p>She was trying to run to him, to be with him, but he seemed to get farther away every step she took. Eventually, Annabeth found herself right next to her boyfriend, just in time to watch the inevitable. He paused to look at her before glancing down, discovering a familiar celestial bronze blade protruding from the small of his back. He didn’t seem shocked.</p><p>“How could you let this happen?” he asked. Annabeth stumbled. She searched for the words, but they wouldn’t come. “I… I didn’t… I wouldn’t-” “But you <em>did</em>,” he spit at her, accusingly. “I thought you had a plan! But you didn’t plan for <em>this</em>, did you?!” He was seething now, screaming at her as their friends’ empty eyes pressed a weight into her chest. “I- I would <em>never</em>-” “Look around you!” he yelled one last time, and Annabeth shot up, nearly falling out of her bed.</p><p>Her sheets were soaked with sweat. She could feel her face, red and burning. It was late. She knew she shouldn’t. He would be asleep. He wouldn’t want to hear her rant about impossible scenarios that would never come to pass. And she didn’t exactly want to tell him that she’d killed him in a dream. She may not be an Aphrodite kid, but she was pretty sure that was a damper on a relationship. <em>But I do have that one thing I’ve been meaning to talk to him about… </em>she thought.</p><p>Annabeth riffled through her messy desk, desperately trying to locate her sketchbook. She paused as she found it, admiring its black leather cover, adorned with Athena’s Ancient Greek symbol in gold. Taking a deep breath, she threw the book in her satchel and grabbed her jacket, heading out the door.</p><p>It was a cold night in New Rome. The crisp air made her think of New York, with its freezing winters and harsh neon lights. Annabeth followed the path leading away from her dorm building, passing the little coffee shop on the corner. She made the familiar right at the stairwell leading up to the garden of Bachus, and hazily identified the landmarks that guided the way to Percy. </p><p>Too soon she was standing at his door. Her heart pounded in her chest as her breath billowed in a cloud around her. She shouldn’t be nervous. This was Percy. Percy who loved her. Percy who sacrificed himself for her. Percy who gave up immortality for her. Percy who nearly fought an entire Roman legion to protect her. Percy who stood before the ancient site of their parents’ feud and declared it over out of his love for her. Percy that would never, <em> ever </em> leave her, not on purpose. Her Percy. </p><p>She stepped through the door of the dorm building, the identical halls blurring together as she hurried to his floor. She had a moment of pause before rapping her fist against the wood, enacting the series of knocks they had agreed upon so he would know it was her. Not a second later, the door creaked open, and there stood Percy Jackson, sleepy and shirtless. His abs seemed to glow in the fluorescent light of the hallway. His sea green eyes were drooping, but alert as he clutched a ballpoint pen in his left hand.</p><p>“Hey, Wise Girl. You need something?” he asked, his eyes traveling to her satchel. His gaze snapped back up to her head, resting on the tear tracks. His face fell. “Nightmares again?” She nodded silently. Looking back into his dorm room, Percy spied his roommate’s empty bed. “Um, ok… Ryan shouldn’t be back for another couple hours, he’s working a night shift. Do you want to come in?” She nodded again, and he moved to let her through the doorframe. </p><p>Percy’s room wasn’t messy, per say, but its disorganization was typically a source of stress for Annabeth. There were items of clothing carelessly thrown around and under his bed. Books, papers, and half finished bottles of various energy drinks crowded his desk, nearly overtaking the only lamp in the room. Singularly wrapped food packages, laundry pods, and other necessities spilled out of containers in his open wardrobe. It looked like chaos personified. But tonight, it was perfectly comforting.</p><p>The soft light of Percy’s desk lamp illuminated Annabeth’s face as the tears flowed freely off her cheeks. She worlessly sat in his chair, her shoulders uncharacteristically slumping. Something was clearly wrong. He wanted to ask, but Percy knew how this went. Annabeth would only talk about it when she was ready. And when she was ready, she’d start talking, she didn’t need to be prompted. The best thing to do was distract her, let her focus on something else while she processed her feelings.</p><p>Percy gazed once again at his girlfriend’s satchel, now hanging off the side of his desk chair. She was a planner, whatever was in the bag, she wanted here for a reason.</p><p>“So you probably don’t want to talk about it right now.” She nodded. “And you came to my room, so you still want to talk to me.” She nodded again, more hesitantly. “And you brought something. Something you want to show me?” Annabeth moved toward the bag, removing her sketchbook.</p><p>She knew it would be waiting on page twenty-eight. Her future. <em> Their </em> future. She slowly turned the book around, her attention on Percy as he examined the design. His bright eyes bore into the paper, moving from room to room, the corners of his lips curling upward as he read through her notes. “It’s a house.” She was silent for a moment, considering her options before responding with, “Yes.” The son of Poseidon looked up at her. “It’s <em> our </em> house.” She grinned, delighted at the enthusiasm in his voice. Positioning herself closer to him, Annabeth gently pulled the sketchbook toward her so she could see things from his perspective. </p><p>He pointed to a small room on the first floor. “That’s your office.” He smiled at her, continuing, “It has floor to ceiling windows, to let in natural light. And an entire wall for books. And only your architecture books, right? None of my Harry Potter?” Annabeth laughed, leaning her head on his shoulder. “Nope, your Harry Potter books get a special place, and it’s <em> not </em> in my office.”</p><p>“Hey, where’s my office?” Percy scanned the page, but failed to find any room labeled as such. He looked at Annabeth, mock offended. “Don’t look at me like that! You don’t get an office, you don’t need one!” He chuckled, his windswept hair bouncing with the movement of his head. “And what if I want one?” “Come one, we both know you’d never use it!” He stared at her for a moment, as if unsure whether he could fight his way out of this battle. Eventually, he conceded defeat. “Alright, Chase. You win. Maybe I don’t need an office. But yours looks lovely, just the same.”</p><p>Annabeth smiled at her boyfriend sweetly before turning back to the design. “And you see this?” she asked, indicating to a corner of the living room. “It’s a big fireplace, huge, with a little shrine to the most helpful goddess in the entire Greek pantheon.” Percy traced the corners of the area, reminiscing his conversations with Hestia.</p><p>He motioned to the top of the page. “A guest room?” Annabeth nodded. “For Paul and Sally. I figured they’d be here enough. You know, to help out with-” “With their grandkids?” Annabeth’s face reddened. Her boyfriend smiled at her, taking her hand. “I suppose we <em>are</em> going to need some help. Guess we didn’t think we’d live long enough to seriously consider it. But that’s what the other rooms are for right? I mean, my Harry Potter books aren’t going to get a whole room to themselves, are they?” She laughed. “No, you’re not giving those books to the kids, they’ll become as obsessed as you are!” Percy smiled manically. “Well I suppose we’ll have that conversation when the kids are old enough, huh?”</p><p>The two demigods held each other, their eyes still trained on the sketch, as if the dream it represented would float away if they didn’t watch it. They enjoyed a moment of peaceful silence before Annabeth whispered, “Can I show my favorite place?” Percy looked at the daughter of Athena, gazing lovingly into her stormy eyes. “Show me our favorite place.” The blonde turned her head toward the book, moving her finger toward a space behind the imagined home. “There’s a certain place in New Rome I would build it. Right at the edge, on the shore of the Little Tiber. There’s a slope leading down to the river, perfect place to plant some olive trees. I’m envisioning a small orchard, the smell of olives mixing with the river water, dappled in sunlight.” She turned to Percy as he enveloped her in a kiss. “And a little girl, learning to walk?” She smiled. “Yeah, she’s the final piece.”</p>
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